Troubles for Krongard

Remember Howard Krongard, the Dept. of State Inspector General who's alleged to have hindered or white-washed investigations into the misdeeds of private contractors? Well, he got a chance to defend himself on the Hill yesterday, it didn't go so well, and now he's recused himself from further investigations into Blackwater's conduct in Iraq:

The State Department's embattled inspector general suddenly removed himself Wednesday from investigations into security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, after belatedly acknowledging that his brother sits on a Blackwater advisory board.

The revelation came at a House of Representatives hearing that cited allegations from current and former State Department employees — and the Justice Department — that Inspector General Howard Krongard had impeded investigations into Blackwater and the construction of the $740 million U.S. Embassy complex in Iraq.

The allegations before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee added to the questions about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's management of the massive U.S. diplomatic presence in Iraq and of the State Department in Washington.

Krongard initially said that he was unaware that his brother, former CIA executive director Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard, had any financial ties with Blackwater. He said he'd asked his brother about "ugly rumors" concerning his relationship with Blackwater and had been assured there was none.

But after Democratic committee members told him that his brother had stayed at a Williamsburg, Va., hotel where Blackwater's "Worldwide Advisory Board" was meeting this week, Krongard used a break in the hearing to call his brother.

He said that Buzzy Krongard confirmed that he'd been at the meeting.

"I hereby recuse myself from any matters having to do with Blackwater," Howard Krongard announced.

Yes, you read that correctly. Krongard is apparently the last person Earth to discover that his brother has had some dealings with Blackwater. Howard is now asking Congress to believe that his brother not only denied his involvement when supposedly questioned by Howard in the past, but that "Buzzy" also waited to confess until Howard called him-dramatically-in the middle of a Congressional hearing on the matter. No doubt there is some family dysfunction in the Krongard clan, but that's really taking the cake. Republican Rep. Chris Shays-trying to throw Krongard a bone-says after this revelation that Krongard's brother "has done you tremendous damage...I would be one pretty unhappy guy." But (and I bet you weren't expecting this surprise) it appears that Howard's assertion isn't exactly true:

TPM Muckraker’s Spencer Ackerman also called and interviewed Buzzy Krongard and learned that Buzzy had filled Cookie in on his Blackwater relationship.

Earlier today, the State Department inspector general repeatedly told the panel that he was unaware his brother, A.B. “Buzzy” Krongard, had joined the advisory board of State Department security contractor Blackwater. Krongard said he had a single phone conversation with his brother about the issue, in October, in which Buzzy didn’t tell Cookie he was joining the board. Only Buzzy says that’s not true.

In an exclusive interview with TPMmuckraker, Buzzy Krongard says that in that phone conversation, he specifically told Cookie Krongard he had agreed to join Blackwater’s advisory board. “I had told my brother I was going on the advisory board,” Buzzy Krongard says. “My brother says that is not the case. I stand by what I told my brother.”

Buzzy Krongard says the phone conversation was more recent than Cookie Krongard indicated to the committee. Cookie said it took place about five or six weeks ago. Buzzy says it was about two or three weeks ago. Both men say there was just one phone conversation.

I guess Buzzy didn't feel like taking the blame for his brother's somewhat less than accurate testimony. I have a feeling that Thanksgiving dinner is going to be a little awkward for the Krongard's this year.

Kronyism, cont.

Howard Krongard, the State Dept. IG who's already in trouble for allegedly blocking investigations into wrong-doings in the State Dept., is getting more attention from House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman:

In the letter, Waxman explains that one week after he informed Krongard of the accusations being made by employees within his department, the whistleblowers were accosted by one of Krongard’s subordinates: a congressional affairs liaison who works for the State IG’s office. Here’s what one whistleblower reports that he was told:

[T]he congressional liaison told him: “You have no protection against reprisal. You have no whistleblower protections. Howard could retaliate and you would have no recourse.”

If there was any doubt about whether the Inspector General has been improperly carrying out the duties of his office, he’s confirmed it with his attempts to retaliate against his own employees, at least one of whom he had previously lauded as “one of my best investigators.”

Waxman directed Krongard “to suspend all communications (other than those necessary to collect responsive documents) with employees the Committee is planning to interview.”

This leads, combined with my last post on Krongard, leads me not only to question Krongard's integrity, but also his intelligence. Retaliating against your underlings while you're being investigated is only slightly stupider than sending nasty emails to people that you're planning on suing.

Kronyism, update

I don't know how pertinent this is, but via John Cole we learn that not only is Krongard a bit of a hack, but he appears to not be a very nice guy either. Not that being a nice guy is a necessary precondition to being an Inspector General (in fact in some cases it might be a detriment) but maybe being an ass to other people who also deserve it would be more...consistent.

More Trouble for Blackwater

The Iraqis aren't backing down in the standoff over the Blackwater shootings:

The Iraqi government expects to refer criminal charges to the Iraqi courts within days in the killing of at least eight Iraqis by a private American security company, the state minister for national security affairs said Saturday, and he said that the government had received little information so far from the American side of the joint investigation.

The minister, Shirwan al-Waili, who has been closely involved in the Iraqi investigation, said that the inquiry was largely completed, and he made it clear that he believed the findings were definitive. “The shots fired on the Iraqis were unjustifiable,” he said. “It was harsh and horrible.”

Although Mr. Waili did not spell out exactly what the investigative committee would recommend to the Iraqi criminal court, a preliminary report of findings by the Interior Ministry, National Security Ministry and Defense Ministry stated that “the murder of citizens in cold blood in the Nisour area by Blackwater is considered a terrorist action against civilians just like any other terrorist operations.”

“The criminals will be referred to the Iraqi court system,” it stated.

What does that mean? It's hard to say. Civilian contractors are immune from punishment under Iraqi law, so this more a political statement than a legal one. But it still puts Blackwater and the Bush administration which hires these security contractors in a difficult position.

Also mentioned in the news is an investigation into illegal arms shipments to Iraq on the part of Blackwater. A federal criminal investigation is underway, the same investigation that State IG Howard Krongard has apparently done his best not to cooperate with.

When it rains it pours.

Kronyism?

Who is this Howard Krongard guy? Here's an interesting tidbit (via War & Piece):

POGO's Nick Schwellenbach points out that State IG Howard Krongard, under investigation by congressman Waxman, over among other things whether he stymied probes into Blackwater, is the brother of former CIA executive director Buzzy Krongard, who Ken Silverstein has reported, helped grow Blackwater's government business.

Does that mean anything? We'll see...

State IG Accused

As if Henry Waxman doesn't have enough to do:

Howard J. Krongard, the State Department's inspector general, has repeatedly thwarted investigations into contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan, including construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and censored reports that might prove politically embarrassing to the Bush administration, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform charged yesterday in a 13-page letter.

His alleged naughtiness includes:

• Refusing to send investigators to Iraq and Afghanistan to investigate $3 billion worth of State Department contracts.
• Preventing his investigators from cooperating with a Justice Department probe into waste and fraud in the construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
• Using "highly irregular" procedures to personally exonerate the embassy's prime contractor of labor abuses.
• Interfering in the investigation of a close friend of former White House adviser Karl Rove.
• Censoring reports on embassies to prevent full disclosure to Congress.
• Refusing to publish critical audits of State's financial statements.

There's not a whole lot on the internets about Krongard beyond some mentions of his prior experience as a lawyer and in regards to a State investigation this summer into unsettling labor practices involving the construction of the U.S. embassy. I have a feeling we may soon learn more about the man though.

UPDATE: The Post article doesn't mention this, but according to the NY Times the "close friend" of Karl Rove is Kenneth Tomlinson, noteworthy hack, who was tipped off by Krongard about investigations into his misconduct. Why would he do favors for Karl Rove's friends, or block the very investigations it was his department's job to conduct? No reason that I can find, just yet. Krongard appears to be somebody's Manchurian Candidate in State though, and I'm sure the breadth of his connections to people in the White House will be made clear before much longer.